The Tambov Garrison Military Court sentenced former commander of the 58th Army Ivan Popov to five years in a penal colony on charges of large-scale fraud and official forgery, TASS reported. He was also stripped of the rank of major general.
Earlier, the prosecution requested six years in a penal colony and a fine of 800 thousand rubles for him. The defense, in turn, asked to send Popov to the war in Ukraine.
Popov did not plead guilty, and the case was considered in a closed session.
General Ivan Popov was arrested on May 21 last year on charges of large-scale bribery. According to the investigation, he was involved in the theft of 1.7 thousand tons of metal products purchased by the military-civil administration of the occupied Zaporizhzhia region for defensive structures. At the same time, the investigation reported that Popov "gave incriminating testimony against other participants in the theft case." The court sent him to a pre-trial detention center, but in July the measure of restraint was changed to house arrest. In March of this year, he was again placed under arrest.
In March, Popov appealed to Vladimir Putin with a request to "return him back to duty." In early April, his lawyer stated that the Ministry of Defense allegedly allowed the general to return to the front, but the court did not make such a decision. At the moment, the decision to send Popov back to the active army has not yet been made.
Popov commanded the 59th Army in the Zaporizhzhia direction until the summer of 2023. He was removed from his position after he criticized the actions of the Ministry of Defense, and his address to the soldiers, whom he calls "gladiators," and himself "Spartacus," leaked online.
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